ENGLISH IIA: Mid-term Exam
STUDY GUIDE
2014
We have covered so much this semester, including the period authors of Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Gothic
literature, colonial Faustian legends in American literature and the summer reading of Hawthorne. Keep in mind that
while this guide is very comprehensive, it is meant as a guide and the mid-term will only have 50-75 multiple-choice
questions in addition to an extended response essay.
HAWTHORNE...fill-in the blanks with the missing words! I challenge you to NOT look-up the answers – if you can
complete these paragraphs without help then you will ACE this portion of the exam!
The Scarlet Letter
Some of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestors were ___________ during the Salem Witch Trials and many of his
ancestors were of the __________ faith. Hawthorne lost his job as a _______________ which led to his writing of
_____________________. The writer most influence by Hawthorne was _____________.
The Puritan plan for living was based on the teachings of ____ _________ which explains why ____________
poetry was NOT banned as one of the ‘English diversions’ in the colonies.
Hawthorne uses many symbolic meanings in The Scarlet Letter especially with the rosebush because it is described
as sweet morality and as a dismal human ____________. Additionally, irony is presented when the beginning of the novel
commences with the conflicting descriptions of Utopia and the __________. It strikes the colonists as awkward that Hester
emerges from the prison looking _________ and wearing the letter __ which has ___________ stitching; she seems almost
to be __________. The man standing on the outskirts of the crowd at the beginning of the novel has been residing with
________ ___________ and the reader later learns he is truly Hester’s ____________. The _____________ serves as a
symbol of judgment and enlightenment as Hester stands upon it at the beginning of the story and ________________
stands upon it during one his night _________. Hester and _____________ have a failed marriage because they never truly
________ one another; however, Hester chooses to remain in the colony because it is the __________ of her _____.
As time passes, Hester uses her expertise at ___________ to support herself and her daughter, __________.
In time, people begin to treat Hester with ____________, and Hester believes that her scarlet ‘A’ reveals _____________.
However, even as Hester’s scorn from the colonists subsides, Pearl is continued to be labeled as a ____________ of sin and
an imp of ________. The first object Pearl becomes aware of is her mother’s _________ __________.
Identify which character is being DESCRIBED by the following quotes….
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“…on the outskirts of the crowd, a figure which irresistibly took possession of her thoughts.”
“…took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom…”
“…Her face so long familiar to the townspeople, showed the marble quietude which they were accustomed to
behold thee.”
“…A strange, sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart…”
“the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.
. . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“…a glare of red light out of (___) eyes; as if the old (___) soul were on fire, and kept on smoldering
duskily…”
“What can a ruined soul, like mine, effect towards the redemption of other souls?
“The Minister’s Black Veil”
People’s reactions to Rev. Hooper’s veil are ___________ and ____________. The subject of Rev. ___________’s
sermon is _____ when he first reveals his ______. Rev. Hooper proclaims the he has ___________ to wear the veil because
it separates him from the __________ and is a ___________ symbol of sadness. One effect of the veil on the minister’s
parishioners is he converts the worst of _________. The external conflict of Hawthorne’s short story is
_____________________________________ while the internal conflict is ______________________________. Rev.
Hooper’s deathbed scene is foreshadowed by a ___________. The wedding and funeral both left the attendees full of
______________ rather than _______________. A motif can be defined as an idea or ___________ that is continually
________________. The motif in this short story is secret _____ and the tone is ________.
“Rappaccini’s Daughter”
The garden that is owned by __________________ is enchanted and is compared to the Garden of
_______. Beatrice’s sister, a ___________ bush, is poisonous; however, Dr. Rappaccini wears _________ so that
he doesn’t perish from contact with it. Beatrice’s social life is ___________, but she is happy when ____________
gives her a bouquet of ____________ even though it ______. The event Giovanni witnesses in the garden
____________ him because of the element of the _______________________ which Hawthorne always finds a
way to implement in his stories. The purple shrub appeared when ___________ was born. Giovanni receives an
_____________ from Baglioni, but when Beatrice comes into contact with it she _______. Dr. Rappaccini’s final
wish for his daughter is to ______________________; however, Beatrice’s final wish for herself is to
__________________________ and to have her father ___________________. The plant symbolizes
______________________, while the garden symbolizes __________________________
--------------------------------------Textbook selections (prepare for all of the authors/texts below to appear on the midterm)...remember, almost all of the authors and/or notes regarding their styles and themes
appear on my website!
Herman Melville:
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from Moby Dick (pg. 336)
 Captain Ahab
 Starbuck
 Stubb
Motivating conflict (internal desires)
What was Melville’s purpose? (think about desire vs. Nature)
Why are the Pequod’s planks dented?
What are the omens that appear as foreshadowing?
Why and how is the color white a symbol?
What does the ship’s voyage symbolize if the crew represents humanity and the whale represents Nature?
Billy Budd will NOT be on the exam
Edgar Allan Poe:
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The Fall of the House of Usher (pg. 292)
 What does Poe use to signify his Gothic element?
 What was Gothic literature (key components, style, reasoning, etc.)?
 How are Roderick Usher’s fears realized at the end of the story?
 In the description of the house, cite words that help convey the presence of decay
 In terms of the narration, how or why is/isn’t the narrator reliable (remember, who the narrator is
and why he is at the home)?
“The Raven” (pg. 312)
 For whom is the speaker grieving?
 What is the element of Gothic literature conveyed by the bird’s speaking?
 Why does the speaker’s distress intensify as the poem moves along?
 What does the speaker want from the bird?
 How is the word nevermore related to emotional changes in the poem/speaker/etc.?
 What does the Raven eventually symbolize? (*subjective*)
Washington Irving
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The Devil and Tom Walker (pg. 228)
 What is a Faustian Legend?
 Plot events in chronological order
 What do the first two paragraphs on pg. 231 suggest about colonial attitudes toward Native Americans?
 Explain Tom’s character through direct characterization (we discussed his motives and behaviors) and
how do we understand his feelings through indirect characterization (we discussed his behaviors toward
his wife)
 How does Tom’s wife react to his news about the money? What does this say about her?
 In terms of Christian faith, according the Irving, what happens to the soul if it is sold?
 What is the prevailing mood of the story?
 How does Tom react to the fate of his wife?
 What bargain does Tom strike with the Devil?
Joyce Carol Oates
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Where Is Here? (pg. 325)
 Recall our 2-day debate regarding whether or not this is a ghost story!
 Who is the stranger?
 How do the father/mother react to the stranger?
 What are the Gothic effects used by Oates?
 What are the riddles and questions posed by the stranger? (pg. 328)
 What does the stranger request before he leaves?
 Explain the stranger’s final remark about whether or not his family is still living (*subjective*)
Emerson/Thoreau
 What is Transcendentalism?
 Review Self-Reliance (pg. 369) and Walden (pg. 378)
 Be able to explain extended metaphors in terms of Transcendental thought and being at one with Nature
(specifically tilling the soil from Emerson and owning a farm from Thoreau, along with Thoreau’s ideas
regarding going “into the woods” [pg. 383] and man “keeping pace with his companions” [pg. 385]...use
what is on my website and what we spend 3 days working on with Walden)!
Fireside Poets will NOT be on the mid-term, nor will vocabulary from our weekly lists